@ainsleym &
@KesselrunA Notice of Intent is not lodged with the Department of Mines it is a requirement by NT Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
A notice of intent outlines the proposed actions to the EPA, the EPA then determines if there are any significant environmental impacts that require assessment through either a Public Environmental Report or an Environmental impact statement. A Notice of Intent is required for more than just Water Extraction it is required to cover all environmental aspects and also included community impacts. See below for guidelines
https://ntepa.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/284840/draft_guideline_prep_noi.pdfKor will not need a Land Clearing and the land has previously been cleared of native Flora and is currently used for growing Hay I believe.
See below for Flow Chart for the Environmental Impact Assessment Process.
https://ntepa.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/286753/eiaFlowchart.pdfThe Notice of Intent is important to get right for Korab as due to the simplicity of the project there is the possibility of avoiding the significant impact assessment and thus not requiring a PER or EIS which simplifies the whole process. This is done by ensuring that the notice of intent covers the enviromental impacts and has an appropriate management process in place to mitigate any environmental impacts.
I believe one of the issues that Kor was working through was transport. The Notice of Intent has to outline the proposed route and what alternatives where assessed and the reasoning for the selected route. This included stakeholder engagement with various communities, departments of roads, local government and local industry. The assessment included analysis of road suitability (intersections, traffic interactions, load-carrying capacity), approvals, stakeholder impacts and benefits, technical risk etc.
The NOI is written in consultation with the NT government to ensure that all information is covered it is important to make sure that everything is covered before submission as the process after submission can be significantly simplified.
Not saying im not disappointed that it has taken so long but there is a lot involved. I personally think that Andrej should have outsourced more rather than undertaking so much of it himself.
IMO DYOR
(20min delay)